'Money? I thought this was the Goldberg bar mitzvah'

President Barack Obama raked in more campaign cash at a convivial fundraiser Friday at the Houston home of fellow Harvard Law alumnus Tony Chase.

Chase, now a professor at the University of Houston and chief executive of ChaseSource, a recruiting and staffing firm, introduced the president.

"All of you are so gracious to give so much money to this president," Chase said to guests, who each paid $35,800 for the affair (or $15,000 for plus-ones).

"Money? I thought this was the Goldberg bar mitzvah," quipped a guest named Arthur, according to a pool report.

It's unclear in the report if the president reacted to the joke. Chase, who resigned as deputy chairman and director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in 2008 to raise money for Obama, said, "We love this president." He received a "hear, hear" from the crowd.

Obama spoke about clean energy and reviewed "three of the most difficult years" that just passed, the pool reported. He praised the resiliency and "core decency" of the American people for the recovery that he said is now underway.

He told the audience -- "quiet and rapt," according to the pool report -- that "our ability to bounce back and thrive in the future will depend on decisions we have to make right now."

Hitting some of his stump speech themes of investing in education, clean energy and mandating "shared responsiblity" across tax brackets, the president lashed out at his opponents, although not by name. "We have a party that doesn't think these kinds of investments are important," he said.

"On each of these issues there is a stark choice," Obama said. "Here's the good news: I am absolutely sure the direction we are taking is supported by the American people."

The true measure will come in November, but if it works out in his favor, Obama said he has "about five and a half more years" to finish what he set out to achieve.

The event was the second of the day. The first was a $500-per-head event at Minute Maid Field, also in Houston. Obama has been fundraising at a harried pace in recent weeks, hitting his 100th campaign event last week since kicking off his reeelction bid in April 2011.